Boy faces 20 years in Dubai prison after flirting with teenage girl
An 18-year-old Brit faces 20 years in prison in Dubai after being charged with having sex with a then-17-year-old during a family holiday.
Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham, London, was held in a notorious UAE prison for days after police heard of his holiday romance from her ‘strict’ mother.
According to Daily Mail, the couple ‘had a wonderful time together’ on holiday in August, meeting up in secret as she feared she could not tell her mother she was seeing a boy. They hoped to continue their relationship when they were back in London.
But as the girl’s furious mother later found out and told police in Dubai about the relationship when they returned to the UK, Marcus now faces two decades inside a gruelling Dubai prison.
‘When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again when I got home. Then suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door,’ Marcus told British-based aid organisation Detained in Dubai.
‘They said they were taking me in for questioning but wouldn’t tell me why. I couldn’t imagine what for. I was frightened and my parents were terrified.’
Dubai has only recently reformed its laws on sex outside of marriage for tourists, but upholds a strict Islamic legal system, and has no firm ruling on age of consent.
Under local law, a child is defined as a person under 18 years of age. The relationship would be legal in the UK, and the girl has since turned 18.
Marcus had joined his parents for a short holiday on August 26 when he struck up a holiday romance with a girl just months from turning 18.
‘We had a wonderful time together. We really liked each other but she was secretive with her family because they were strict,’ he said.
‘My parents knew about our relationship but she couldn’t tell hers. She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy.’
The pair tried to spend as much time as they could together while abroad, and hoped to get to know each other better when back in London.
She left Dubai first and they arranged to meet up.
